Gas Tank Level?

[Buzzsaw55]

Hello Guys, This is My First Post, I own a 1990 Ram 1 TON W350, 5.9 Gas ,Auto...Stake Body... My First Question may seem Quite Stupid I know But Just How Much Gas Needs to be in the Tank to Reach the PUMP??. I know that sounds like a Rediculous Question but My Gauge and Odometer are BOTH presently Not working and so I'm Winging it with counting the miles & carrying a Full Gas Can. ... Ive Run out of gas (I thought) 3 Times so far, always on a Steep Incline. However ,I Know There was definitely some Gas in the Tank and My Pump is New and Working. Luckily, All 3 times, I just added 2 gallons and it started right up and got me home, 20 miles. So My question is, Does there Have to be a bare Minimum of 3, 5, 10 gallons in the tank to reach the Pump??? Or Is the Tank NOT LEVEL??? I Believe it's a 30 or 35 gallon Tank. Anyone else ever had this problem?? Thanks in advance for any Tips.

 

[crazzywolfie]

should probably be able to run it down to about 1 gallon or less unless the sending unit was installed wrong when the new pump was installed. the fuel injected trucks have the pickup in the middle of the tank instead of at 1 end like the old tanks so it should not really be much of an issue.

 

[Buzzsaw55]

that explains the Leveling idea...My Tank is like the TOP Pic. On the front end of the tank. I guess that explains why I ran out on an incline... It's a 5.9 Throttle Body Not fuel injected. Also, I have searched everywhere and can NOT find a Sending Unit for this 1990 W350 anywhere.

 

[crazzywolfie]

Your sending unit should be in the middle of the tank like the bottom one in that picture. The top one had the sending unit at the very back of the tank. The 88-90 sending units usually have to be rebuilt. I have heard of people using 91-93 sending unit in the 88-90 tanks but never seen it done or complete with pictures. Your truck is TBI which is a type of fuel injection which is better than car bed in some ways

 

[Buzzsaw55]

That's Odd because My tank is Definitely Like the Top Pic. You Posted but slightly different , as you can see in the Pic I Posted, in that, the Filler Hose in Mine goes all the way to the Rear of the tank and the sending Unit is all the way Up Front, before the Cab. I Believe It is definitely Original, Brackets and all are very Rusty. I wonder if the 1 TON Stake Bodies & Dump Trucks had a Different tank than the Standard Cabs for some crazy reasin? Certainly Not a Gravity Friendly set up with Sending Unit & Pump Up Front in such a Long Tank , Seems like a Obvious fuel Delivery Problem waiting to happen I would think.. In Fact , I'm Glad You brought this to my attention because now I'm begining to think perhaps I didn't need to change that Fuel Pump after all? Well, I have a spare now. I Think I'll Need to Keep that tank at least 1/4 Full to be safe. Thanks so much for Opening My Eyes to this problem. Now that I Understand it, I can Deal with it.

 

[crazzywolfie]

no yours looks identical to the bottom tank in the pic i posted. the tank gets smaller as it goes under the cab but the sending unit is right in the center. when my fuel gauge use to not work i would fill up about every 200 miles because i had a 20 gallon tank and could get 200-250miles/tank but would always play it safe. you may want to run some oil through the old pump if you want to keep it as a spare. otherwise when thy sit dry they lock up.

 

[Buzzsaw55]

OK Thanks For All Your Input, appreciate it. Gotta deal with it I guess... It's a Dodge Thing.

 

[crazzywolfie]

could always see about getting the gas gauge fixed. i know it is a lot nicer to have a working gas gauge than a non working gauge.

 

[Buzzsaw55]

Your Right, I'll be working on it. Wouldn't be so bad if the Odometer worked too. The Speedometer Works but No Odometer at all. Probably that Plastic gear in there that's known to go bad but I'm Not rupping that dash apart.

 

[crazzywolfie]

apparently this place rebuilds sending units and just did one from a 89 for someone on another forum
http://www.tristarrradiator.com/

 

[Buzzsaw55]

Thanks, I'll Check 'em out